Clare and Raki
by TheSilentChloey
Summary: Priscilla awakened and Teresa, Irene, Sophia and Noel all survived by some miracle. Now they must care for Clare as she grows into womanhood and beyond. Features hets such as Clare X Raki, Miria X OC and Teresa X OC
1. Chapter 1: When It All Began

Clare and Raki

Chapter 1:

True Love

_The small child was rooted to the spot as the woman she so adored was falling into the dirt. The other warrior was turning into a monster and she was afraid. The three others raced forward and tried to kill her, they fought her so hard that she could hear their laboured calls. The longhaired woman, she must have been their leader, lost her left arm in the fight._

"_You shouldn't leave this lying around Irene."_

_Priscilla smiled, but that made her more frightening to the girl. The child watched in horror as the warriors fell. She was so terrified that she couldn't move. Then Priscilla started walking in her direction_

'_This is it.'_

_She thought to herself,_

'_I'm going to die here and now'_

_However, Priscilla continued as if she wasn't there._

_Once she was sure that the monster was gone, she ran to Teresa. She was starting to regain consciousness, and she thought she heard Teresa sware. The warrior looked at the child, then said softly,_

"_It's going to be ok,"_

_The child looked at Teresa's arms,_

"_Your hands…"_

"_If you get them for me I can reattach them."_

_The warrior told her,_

"_My yoki power should be enough to do it."_

_She obeyed the command given to her and watched in sickened fascination as Teresa reattached both of her hands._

"_We'll need to help the others."_

_Said Teresa._

The young "claymore" woke with a start, her dreams the worst place for her to be at times and this was one of those. She tried not to think about them too much, else had a hold over her then them. She paused as she looked around her, and could see Teresa's steady breathing. She knew that Priscilla was still haunting others with her eerie form that she was still alive and hiding somewhere. Clare shuddered, that day; she was so close to losing Teresa. She was surprised that Irene, Sophia and Noel all survived at all, Clare had seen the Quicksword lose her left arm, and Sophia and Noel each lose an eye. Irene was unable to regenerate her arm but the other two were able to regenerate their eyes, with some assistance from Teresa and Irene. Teresa had already reattached her hands before the three gained consciousness, and then the four warriors talked. Clare waited anxiously hoping that Teresa was right and the other three wouldn't trouble them. Clare was surprised then when the three said that they wanted to join Teresa and Clare. In Noel's own words,

"No one can surpass Teresa or Priscilla, and I know that we'll only get killed if we got back to Sutafu, so what's the point, if we travel with Teresa and the kid, we'll be safer then if we were on our own."

Irene, Sophia and Teresa all looked surprised at what they heard, but quickly agreed that the four of them together were more then enough to stop any other warriors from thinking of attacking them. Clare was relieved that Teresa was ok, and she hugged her around the waist.

"Ok, Teresa exactly why do you have the child with you?"

Irene asked, Teresa looked at her comrade and said calmly

"I first saw Clare in Theo, where a yoma was keeping her captive. Once I'd finished the creature, I decided that she could travel with me. I tried to find her a safe home in Rokut, but some bandits attacked the town. And as to what happed next…well, you know what happened after that."

The Faint Smile recounted. Noel blinked,

"A yoma's plaything huh? Well, I guess that's a first."

Sophia sighed,

"Let me guess, since the child is so close to you now Teresa what do you intend to do?"

"Take care of her of course."

Teresa told them; as if it was the most logical decision that, she could come to.

_Irene didn't understand, but as she watched Clare, a strange realisation dawned on the former Number 2- no Number 3 Irene corrected her self. The child clearly adored Teresa, and Irene had never seen Teresa look so happy…she decided that she would sit back and watch. That would help explain the madness that was going on here._

_Teresa led the four warriors away with haste, Irene was surprised that Clare could keep up with the pace that Teresa had set. Teresa knew that she would have to carry Clare soon, because she'd be tired._

"_We'll need to disguises for the four of us."_

_Teresa of the Faint Smile told her comrades,_

"_It's too dangerous to wander around like this."_

_Irene nodded, then voiced her concerns,_

"_How are we going to do that, Teresa?"_

"_You'll see."_

_Teresa smiled,_

"_It's not that hard!"_

_She laughed at the stunned faces of her comrades,_

"_All I have to do is find an old friend, and that's not too hard. I'm sure that he's still alive."_

_Irene cringed,_

"_He?"_

"_Yes, he's a he."_

_Teresa laughed,_

"_And he wouldn't dare raise a hand against you three."_

_Despite the former Number 1's words, Irene felt uneasy, just who was Teresa talking about that they didn't know…_

_A few weeks of travelling revealed a cottage set back in the forest. It looked quite roomy and pretty. Clare heard a male voice sing songs. She didn't understand the words but they sounded joyful. As the five travellers arrived into the garden, Clare saw a man with short dark red hair cut just below his ears. He was quite strong looking. Clare blinked in surprise when those deep green eyes regarded her with a kindness that she'd not seen in anyone else's eyes except Teresa's. His pupils were catlike. Almost like a yoma's eye, Clare thought. Yet he was so gentle._

"_How can I help you, Lady Teresa?"_

_He asked kindly. Clare saw a strange look in Teresa's eyes, like she'd known this man, and loved him._

"_Could you help us with disguises, please Johnothan?"_

_She asked him. He smiled and replied,_

"_Of course."_

_And they followed him along the path way. Clare could see that Irene was uncomfortable about this. Sophia and Noel were bickering about who would look like what when they were done here._

_Clare gaped when they entered the house, it was so beautiful._

"_This is my humble abode."_

_Johnothan smiled,_

"_I'm glad you like it child."_

"_It's really pretty."_

_Clare told him. He smiled,_

"_Far less lonely when Teresa visits."_

_He said pointedly,_

"_Well, I can blame that on Orsay all the way."_

_Teresa sighed,_

"_That…idiot was quite irritating."_

"_Ah, of course, I understand."_

_He said, Irene blinked, then realised that Teresa was going to say something not meant for the girl's ears. Sophia took the hint and covered the child's ears so that she couldn't hear._

"_Go on, hit us with your worst Teresa, she can't hear us."_

_Teresa shook her head,_

"_Alright then, that son of a fucking bitch was fucking me around like normal,"_

_Teresa shrugged,_

"_I'm sure that you'd more then understand, after all I'd had enough of him, but I didn't think that events like this would ever have happened."_

_Johnothan tilted his head,_

"_The child?"_

_He asked, Teresa told him everything. Irene cringed as she heard the whole story. Sophia was determined to keep Clare from hearing the occasional sware words that Teresa was letting loose. Noel was grinning like an idiot of course. She was more then happy to hear the former Number 1 cussing about her handler. Irene glared at Noel,_

"_Don't encourage her, Noel."_

"_Don't worry yourself, Lady Irene; Teresa's said much worse then this before."_

_All three warriors gaped at Johnothan. Teresa blushed and then said,_

"_Now then, disguises please."_

"_Of course."_

_He replied._

Clare had remembered those happy few weeks that they'd had together. She remembered thinking that it would be great to live as a human alongside Teresa, Irene, Sophia and Noel. But fate was cruel to her, she would never forget that day, the day that she was forced to become a "claymore" it wasn't their fault, they were doing the best that they could. Clare knew that they were the strongest warriors that she'd ever seen and she'd never let Teresa apologise about that day.

_They entered the town, Teresa and Clare led the three warriors through the throng of people. Teresa had tensed up, a low growl in her throat._

"_Irene, I can feel several yoki to the west of us…we may be found."_

"_So soon?"_

_Irene asked,_

"_Just who could-?"_

"_Not who."_

_Teresa snapped,_

"_It's what that has me worried."_

"_Awakened beings?"_

_Noel asked. Sophia tensed_

"_Why would they be here?"_

"_I don't know."_

_Teresa told them flatly,_

"_Perhaps this town hasn't paid for the extermination of yoma."_

_Clare looked at Irene, her mouth was drawn in a tight line,_

"_Then what do you propose we do, Teresa?"_

_She asked._

"_Do what we can to save the humans here."_

_Teresa decided._

"_Of course."_

_Irene nodded._

_The following battle was so fierce that at first Clare didn't notice that she was hurt, she was so worried about Teresa, but by the time she realised that she was hurt, it was almost too late. She blacked out. Hearing Teresa crying out her name._

_When Clare woke, the fire was beyond anything she'd ever felt…it hurt, and she burned and burned. She wanted to see Teresa; she wanted to stay with her. She cried out, and Teresa was by her side with tears in her eyes,_

"_I'm so sorry Clare."_

_She held Clare close to her,_

"_I'm so sorry."_

"_Teresa,"_

_Clare sobbed,_

"_Teresa…it hurts…it hurts."_

By the time it was over, Clare knew she would never be the same again. She didn't mind though. There were days when it was good to be part warrior. Today was one of those days. She could feel many things. She knew that the town they were travelling in to have a yoma in it. Teresa and the others were reluctant to let Clare learn how to fight, but Teresa had relented after they were nearly attacked by a group of Organization warriors. She also had known that they would be a magnet for awakened ones, so Clare would need to be able to fight. Somehow they found a claymore, with the black card still in the hilt. The symbol wasn't one they knew, so Clare carried the blade. She wasn't as strong as the warriors, but Teresa was imparting knowledge as they travelled. Irene watched as Clare slowly started to get stronger. It was Clare's idea to kill the yoma. She wanted to do it, having argued long and loudly that she need to know for herself just what she needed to work on. Teresa had relented, much to Irene's surprise.

"She's too young!"

Irene argued,

"Teresa see sense! How can you let her do this on her own?"

Teresa looked at Irene,

"Irene, listen to me,"

She told the white haired woman,

"Clare needs to learn, just like we had to. It'll be alright, she's more prepared then we were anyway, so she'll be fine."

Irene didn't argue further, but the others knew that she didn't agree with Teresa at all. She felt that Clare was too weak and too young to take on a yoma just yet despite the fact that she was a young woman now. Sophia had been watching the argument quietly and Noel suddenly surprised them by saying,

"Stop being so negative Irene, if Teresa says Clare'll be ok, then Clare'll be ok. It's no used fighting with her over it."

The others blinked,

"Well, if you look at it from that angle Noel, I am forced to admit that you're right for once."

"I'm always right!"

Noel snapped back at Sophia,

"Unless it's against Teresa of course!"

Sophia shook her head. Noel was a pain.

Clare walked into the town. She was nervous and excited at the same time. She wanted to make Teresa proud and prove to the other warriors that she could fight the yoma just as well as they could. A couple of years ago Teresa had shown Clare how to find the yoma…it was dead easy, if they weren't hiding themselves.

She walked calmly into the town, the humans all froze when they saw her.

"That's…that's a Claymore!"

"She's just like the rumours say, really frail looking but she carries a huge sword!"

"Hey, Raki…wait!"

A young man called out to a small boy, who ran over to her. He stopped a little way from her as Clare reacted to the yoma sent. His soft grey eyes were wide with fear. All the other humans gaped at them.

"What was that for I wasn't doing anything wrong?"

The human boy said. Clare looked at him for a bit longer and walked past him,

"Hey, you're a Claymore aren't you?"

He asked,

"No."

Clare said shortly,

"Huh?"

"I don't work for the Organization."

She told him calmly,

"Then why are you here?"

He asked, his curiosity made Clare stop.

"You're a strange boy, aren't you afraid of me?"

She asked him. Normal humans hated half yoma, and probably Clare too, even though she was half a half yoma.

"No you're just like an ordinary girl. Well, you're not so ordinary you're prettier then the girls here."

He grinned, Clare's eyes narrowed, and she turned on her heal, intending to march off.

"Hey, wait up, I didn't mean it like that!"

The boy cried in dismay.

After a while he spoke up again,

"Where are you going?"

"Is this the edge of the village?"

Clare asked him.

"Yep, just beyond here are the old mines."

Clare tilted her head, then sat down. She needed a little nap, she'd managed to keep up with the others for three days of straight walking and was proud of herself for that.

"What are you doing?"

The boy asked,

"Sleeping."

Clare replied, though she wasn't sure that he'd hear it properly, it sounded garbled at best to her. She heard him plunge some wood into the ground across from her.

Raki sat across from the beautiful silver eyed girl, her hair came down to her chin and she was breathtaking. He'd never seen any girls like her before and he was instantly curious about her. He wondered what her name was…he sat with his back on the stick and she sat with her back on her claymore broad sword. Her eyes were closed and she looked even prettier when they were open Raki decided. After a few minutes of them sitting together the bells rung.

"Oh no!"

Raki cried as he jumped up,

"I have to go fix dinner for everyone."

Clare looked up at him, confused,

"My brother and I are staying at my uncle's house, so I do the cooking to help out,"

Raki blushed,

"My name's Raki, what's yours?"

"It is a name that will soon be forgotten."

Clare sighed sadly, Raki looked at her with a strange expression, but said nothing and ran home.

Clare didn't know why, but she figured that if she followed Raki, she'd find the yoma. Its sent was strong on him, so it was close to him. Clare followed easily. She could then feel what Teresa had shown her, when Clare cut her long hair…it was a yoma's yoki. Clare jumped hard off the ground and smashed her way into the house, cutting the yoma's arm as she landed.

"It's you!"

Raki cried happily, then stopped when he saw her face. Clare's eyes were gold, and the yoma was completely taken aback. It was yelling and cursing away. Clare glared at it.

"YOU GOD DAMN BITCH!"

It charged forward,

"WHAT CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO WITH THAT HUGE SWORD!"

Clare jumped up and took out its other arm.

"Do you want to know how we can end you?"

Clare asked, she needed more yoki, Teresa was going to kill her if she found out. Clare pushed her yoki up to 20%, groaning with the effort, her muscles sounded like they were cracking away and she didn't need to look at her face to know that at that moment, it was an ugly mask.

"Please have mercy on me!"

The monster begged now, Clare didn't stop, she swung the claymore with all her might, and the monster was sliced clean in half. Clare pulled her yoki back down and swiftly flicked her sword. Once it was clean from the blood Clare replaced it on her back and then left.

Irene was anxious, Teresa was unfazed, Sophia was bored and Noel was sighing,

"It's sure taking Clare a while, huh?"

Noel sighed,

"I'm back."

Clare said, waiting for Irene to interrogate her. Irene glared at Clare and Teresa sighed,

"How many times,"

Irene hissed,

"Just how many times have we told you NOT to do that! Don't say you didn't either! We saw it!"

"Irene…"

"Clare, how many times have we told you that it's dangerous to raise your yoki?"

Teresa asked,

"Experienced warriors would see it and you could get hurt. We don't want that to happen which is why we're avoiding towns as much as possible, we don't want the Organization to send warriors after us, or for them to find you."

Irene emphasized the situation,

"We can not afford that to happen Clare."

"Yes Irene."

Clare sighed. Teresa spoke,

"We'll cross the desert tomorrow, so rest up Clare."

Clare spent the rest of the night by Teresa's side so that Irene was reduced to glaring at her from over the fire. Clare knew that she'd have to stay out of trouble for the next few days before Irene would forgive her, if the older warrior would forgive her, Clare realised. She'd just have to keep trying to hide like the rest of them. Clare found herself thinking of Raki for some strange reason, she didn't know why but she had a feeling that she would see the boy again.

As they walked through the desert, Clare saw someone also braving the storm, but they weren't doing so well. Clare hoped that the others wouldn't notice her gone for a few seconds. She ran over to the fallen form. As she gently turned the person over she almost died of shock. It was Raki, the human boy. Clare quickly derived a conclusion and picked him up. Regardless of what Irene said, Clare couldn't just leave the boy out here to die. She managed to find the others. Irene had turned, probably feeling Clare's absence. Clare cursed inwardly, but kept Raki over her shoulder. She would talk later that evening when they'd settled down for the night.

Out of the corner of her eye, Teresa could see Clare carrying what looked like a small human, she had a strange feeling that this human was going to be a key to something that she didn't know. Teresa wondered why Clare picked him/her up in the first place.

Once they'd settled down for the night, Clare made sure that she tried to get Raki to drink some water. She was surprised to hear him cough and splutter. _Thank goodness he's still alive._ Clare thought. He moaned and sat up. Then he froze as he looked around,

"Whoa! Five claymores! Uh…my name's Raki."

He blushed,

"Who are you?"

Teresa looked at Clare,

"How did you end up in the desert?"

Noel asked,

"Uh…well…it's a long story…"

"Were you thrown out?"

Clare asked. The others looked at Clare, Raki looked close to tears,

"It's not that…I'm no yoma…but they wouldn't listen to me…"

Clare knew that feeling,

"Do you know how to cook?"

Clare asked having a sudden inspiration.

"Sure."

Raki replied, though he wasn't sure where this was heading. Teresa caught on quickly, Clare knew that Teresa was the best at knowing how she worked, and after all, Clare carried Teresa's flesh.

"How about this then. You can cook for us until you find a place that you want to live."

Teresa suggested slowly. Raki nodded furiously, Irene sighed, but was stopped by Noel,

"That's a great idea!"

She sighed again

"First Clare and now this boy, we're really asking for trouble."

Irene sighed again,

"Well he's the cook, so he won't be in the way."

Sophia reasoned,

"And Clare's got someone of her own age, sort of."

Irene sighed again.

"As long as he stays out of trouble, I see no problem."

Teresa decided for them. Clare smiled and Raki's own smile was broad.

"So, I hate to sound rude, but what are your names?"

Raki asked, he noticed that the blond with wavy hair had the ghost of a smile across her face,

"I'm Teresa,"

Teresa replied,

"She's Irene,"

She pointed to the woman with long hair, it was by far the longest hair Raki had ever seen and it was pure white.

"That's Sophia,"

The other blond, with chin length wavy hair,

"And she's Noel."

The woman had short hair that cut almost like Raki's.

"And you know Clare of course."

She smiled, and pointed to the silver eyed beauty that killed the yoma, Raki's brother Zaki. She wore her hair down to her chin as well, but it was straight, she also had a fringe, just above her eyes. Raki decided that Clare was the prettiest of the group, for some reason he didn't know.

They decided to head to Strath the following day to get some supplies. Raki slowly settled into an uneasy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Friend

Clare and Raki

Chapter 2:

A New Friend

The next morning saw Raki springing to his feet pulling his pack onto his back and walking with the women. He stayed behind Clare, which seemed to irritate Irene, just a bit. She didn't say anything since last night. Raki got a "stay away" vibe from her so he did his best not to irritate her. Clare seemed easier to understand. Her emotions were printed on her face, for the entire world to see. Raki soon found that Teresa's face was the hardest to read, in his mind anyway. She always had the ghost of a smile, though it never touched her eyes. Raki found his attention drift back to Clare. She was as he was ready to admit, quite pretty, not as shapely as Teresa, but nice in her own way. Still it wasn't every day that he got to travel with a girl like Clare and the others. Raki tried not to think about the dream that he'd had the previous night. It was embarrassing to say the least. The thought of what Clare looked like underneath that dress was something that he was keen to avoid. Though Raki was sure that she would be mostly normal under it. He blushed as the thought crossed his mind. _Yes sir, Clare's one pretty girl alright._

They'd travelled for a week before settling down near Mount Shire. If it wasn't for the fact that the others hadn't eaten in that time Raki would have thought them no different to himself. Clare saw his confusion,

"We don't need a lot of food."

"Oh."

He replied,

"It's infuriating. It really is."

Teresa sighed,

"No matter, I'm glad that you're human."

She then smiled, it almost touched her eyes. Then the most surprising thing happened; the women all laughed. Raki soon found himself joining in.

As they were laughing a shadow moved. Teresa paused and focused her senses.

"What is it Teresa?"

Irene asked her,

"Something's out there…oh! Johnothan! You scoundrel, you! Come on, I know you're there."

"As sharp as ever Teresa."

The calm voice replied. Clare knew it at once. Slowly the man made his way, he was comfortable in any company, but he seemed to prefer Teresa. He looked at Raki,

"That human's the purest I've ever come across!"

He gapped in surprise,

"I can tell he's Clare's!"

They all blinked at him in surprise. Raki blushed deeply and tried to hide his face from the others.

"You're sure Johnothan?"

Teresa asked.

"Yes Teresa."

Raki caught a quick look at Clare's face and she seemed to be blushing too. He met her eyes and they both returned their attention to Johnothan. Seeing them look at him, Johnothan laughed.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, well aren't you two an interesting pair."

He grinned broadly, then his smile faded swiftly,

"Now then, the real reason I'm here. I've noticed that a few warriors from the Organization have been grouping together, just a little way from here. I'm not sure what's going on, but you may have to go the long way around the Shire."

He warned, serious beyond what Clare had ever seen him be. She knew then that he wasn't mucking around one bit.

"Or split into groups. You know what's best ladies."

"When did you hear of this Johnothan?"

Teresa asked,

"What makes you think that the groups are after us?"

"I don't like the numbers that they've got already…there's at least 5 of them, mixed ranks."

"They won't take us on."

Teresa declared,

"There's no point in doing so. For them it's suicide."

Clare tilted her head,

"What about-"

"You'll be safe if you're with us ok Clare."

"That wasn't what I meant."

Clare only realised what it was that she said and she abruptly stopped talking.

"He'll be safe too."

Teresa replied. Clare blushed. She didn't want the others to know it but for some strange reason she liked Raki.

Teresa decided not to push the point it was clear to her that Clare liked Raki and Raki liked Clare. Teresa felt a small smile cross her face as she thought of the time she met the rather intoxicating flier. Johnothan was handsome, and the years certainly didn't show on him at all. He did warn her that he was by definition a monster, with no humanity to lose. He also told her that he was designed to take on some pretty nasty creatures, ones that thankfully didn't inhabit the island. Teresa paused as the memory sharpened to the exact time and place…

_Teresa was bored out of her mind. Her handler Orsay was pissing her off to say the least. She sighed as she approached the town. She was told that there was a strange creature that was killing the yoma and it had to be stopped. Teresa didn't care, what Orsay said, so far she'd not seen it._

_A strange smell hung in the air. She was unfamiliar with it, as far as she knew there wasn't a scent like this one. Teresa felt nervous, and she was never nervous. She didn't like the scent one bit. She came to where it was strongest and found a man. He was wincing and cursing as he tugged at his shoulders,_

"_Need a hand there?"_

_Teresa found herself asking. He straightened up and turned to face her. Teresa wished he hadn't, it would have spared her from looking into those brilliant green-blue eyes, framed by unruly auburn hair that was cut just above his ears. He regarded her and said,_

"_It would be much appreciated, but I don't think that you can."_

_His voice was beautiful, despite the previous words that had come from his mouth. She was surprised by how magical his voice sounded. Teresa would have blushed at the mere sound of it but she chose a different approach instead._

"_Try me."_

_Teresa grinned. He blinked, a rather pretty blush infusing his cheeks, making them slightly pink. Teresa gently moved him to see where he was hurt, and she noticed several holes in his left shoulder,_

"_Hmm, that looks bad,"_

_She said. His left shoulder was dislocated as well, making healing a pain. Teresa carefully managed to pull his shoulder back into place, he winced, and cursed again with the pain that Teresa was unable to avoid causing. She noticed that the wounds were healing at a rate that she'd never seen before. They seemed to be safe for now._

"_Might I be as polite as to ask your name, or would you prefer that I didn't know?"_

_He regarded her with those knowing eyes and Teresa found herself saying,_

"_My name is Teresa, you are?"_

"_Johnothan."_

_He winced again and Teresa noticed that he was far worse off then she thought. She had a quick look down and saw that one of his legs was steadily regenerating, at a rate that defensive half yoma would be awakening to achieve, and yet he seemed to be at ease,_

"_Are you a defensive type?"_

"_Hmm, no, I'm an offensive flier, and a weak one at that."_

_He sighed,_

"_I was chasing after a monster and it tore my leg off before I could kill it. I barely managed to kill it."_

_He grinned ruefully,_

"_I guess that'll teach me not to try taking on something like that before I'm fully trained."_

"_You're just a trainee!"_

_She cried in shock,_

"_Yep and a complete idiot as well."_

_He looked down at his leg. He seemed embarrassed by her assessment. Teresa found her self regarding this strangely beautiful creature, his wings were a deep brown and were tucked snugly against his body, he was a bit taller then her too, she realised. He was well developed for a trainee, it was highly unusual for one to be this well developed unless he was a bit older the she thought he was. He seemed so…Teresa struggled to come up with the right words. Vulnerable wasn't one of them, he seemed to be able to hold his own against yoma, though the realisation that dawned on Teresa made her think twice. What he needed was a mentor, someone to train with until he was skilled enough to hunt down monsters on his own._

"_Well then why don't you train with me?"_

_Teresa found herself asking,_

"_It might do you some good."_

_He blinked and another blush covered his already pink cheeks, so that his face looked red with embarrassment_

"_Ok."_

Clare woke with a start, she had no idea what woke her but she had a feeling that she needed to do something about it. She looked next to her and noticed that Raki was there. She froze and wondered what he was doing; then realised that she was still fully clothed. She heaved a sigh of relief. She was afraid that her mind was playing tricks on her. She looked around her and she saw Teresa and Johnothan with their backs on their swords, Sophia and Noel were both flat out on the ground and Irene was staring into the flames of the dying fire that was lit earlier that evening. Clare noticed a strange expression on her face.

"Irene…"

Clare whispered softly. She knew that Irene would hear her, but Clare didn't want to wake the others up.

"What is it Clare?"

Irene asked from across the fire, her gaze didn't move from the embers,

"I…I'm feeling something that's very strange…I don't know what it is, but it seems to be near…"

Irene looked Clare in the eye,

"Really?"

She asked softly, then rose from her place across the fire. Clare nodded and noticed that Irene sat to Clare's left,

"It seems that a warrior has reached her limits then."

Teresa, Johnothan, Sophia and Noel all stirred,

"On Shire mountain?"

Teresa asked,

"I think so, but you'll have to ask Clare, she's the one who's sensing it after all."

Irene replied,

"I think it's there, I'm not saying that it's there."

Teresa nodded,

"That would explain the group of warriors."

"Why though?"

Clare asked,

"Why would you need a group of warriors?"

"Well…I'll put it to you like this Clare, it's my guess that the warrior is awaking so they want to kill her as fast as possible to avoid too much trouble."

Clare looked at her mentor with confusion. She didn't understand what Teresa was saying, Irene saw Clare's expression and hastened to explain,

"Do you remember what happened with Pricilla?"

Clare nodded, of course she remembered what happened that day,

"The Organization want to avoid that as much as possible if they can help it, that said they use groups of warriors to hunt down deserters which is our case exactly. It could be that they are hoping to take us by surprise, but seeing as how Johnothan's ruined that, we'll be able to avoid the group, and travel safely."

Clare seemed to understand what Irene was saying. Though it made little sense as to why they'd be hunted down in the first place. It wasn't like Clare or the others were doing anything wrong. Though from what Clare saw, she knew that it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. She could sense the girl frantically running in their direction. She was nowhere near as powerful as Teresa, Irene, Noel or Sophia. Clare was the only one that the girl would have a prayer of defeating and even then, Clare had a back up if push came to shove. She would use her yoki if she had to. Even if it was a risk, Clare knew that it was necessary she would do it.

The next morning saw them relying on Teresa and Clare's yoki perception to avoid contact with the warriors. What they found was a longhaired girl who was frightened of them. She soon opened up when Clare kindly asked her who she was.

"My name is Elena."

The girl told them, she was very nice and Clare liked her straight away. She explained that she was trying to escape the Organization because she knew that she was going to end up dying if she stayed.

"I only wanted to have a rest for a little while, so that I wouldn't turn into a monster. I doubt that anyone I know would be close enough to kill me anyway."

She sighed,

"You can stay with us if you like and that might help you to keep your yoki under control."

Teresa suggested,

"Really?"

Elena asked,

"I'd be forever in your debt, if you don't mind me travelling with you."

Elena smiled,

"I give you my word that I won't be any trouble for you."

She promised. Irene sighed,

"It's settled then."

Teresa replied,

"You can travel with us until the Organization falls."

Clare grinned and Raki seemed happy. At least there was another person that was roughly the same age as them. Irene muttered something about yoki suppression and Elena produced some of her yoki suppression pills.

"I was given these to head to Rabona for my next mission, apparently there's a really strong yoma in the city."

She said,

"These might come in handy."

"Well, we might as well head that way, hiding in the holy city might just be our only hope of avoiding the group of warriors that Johnothan spotted earlier."

Teresa mused.

"Great, the last place that I wanted to be in."

Noel complained,

"How the fuck are we supposed to even get in to the city? Last time I checked there was a ban on half-yoma."

"Noel, watch your language, we have children with us remember!"

Irene sharply rebuked, Sophia was grinning devilishly, she liked it when Noel was told off by either Teresa or Irene, it just made it even more fun to tease Noel later. Teresa answered Noel's question, without the swearing that the former Number 1 wanted to let loose herself.

"Simple, we'll act like we're travellers from distant lands and we'll make good use of those suppression pills that Elena has. There is enough for all of us for a week. Also with Raki, they'll be hard pressed to find out what we are."

Teresa's logic was water tight and Irene was forced to nod,

"It is our best course of action."

She reluctantly agreed,

"It would shake off the pursuing warriors too."

Teresa's faint smile touched her eyes, for the first time Raki had ever seen in the two weeks that he'd been travelling with them.

"Or at least it should."

Irene countered,

"They would have yoki suppressants too, I would assume and that would make it difficult."

"But isn't Teresa one of the most powerful warriors, along with the four of you?"

Elena asked,

"I really think that the Organization won't bother sending warriors, after all it'd just be a suicide mission."

She took a breath and continued,

"The only warrior we would have to worry about is the Number 5, and she's not going to waste her time looking for us."

Teresa raised an eyebrow,

"Don't assume anything."

The warrior warned,

"I've seen warriors that were quite powerful, and they were very young."

She ended their discussion. By which time night was beginning to fall. Clare was surprised that they had travelled so far, then she considered that they had been talking all day, so that made their trip shorter.

"We'll need rest for tomorrow, and we'll move out through the Shire and meet Johnothan."

The others nodded in agreement. Deciding that it would be best for Raki to have as much rest as possible before they moved out. Clare rested along side him and kept him warm. Elena sat up with the others and focused on the ground in front of her in an effort to keep herself out of trouble.

Raki woke the next morning to the calls of birds that had inhabited the Shire mountains for countless generations. He noticed that Clare stayed by his side and Elena was calmly staying near them. For some reason Elena seemed happy to stay near Clare and Raki and talk about the different types of birds the mountains had and how to tell the calls apart. Teresa seemed to approve of Elena's presence, and it was nice for Clare to have a girl who was the same age as she was, almost.

Elena soon proved to be a valuable addition to their group. She was a pleasant girl with a calm and collected manner. Raki wasn't surprised that Elena fit right in like a glove. She tolerated his questions, much like the others had before her, and she seemed to know that Raki knew a little, but he only had small knowledge and he seemed more interested in Clare, for a reason that Elena couldn't define. It seemed to her that Raki might very well be in love with the girl. Elena talked with the others and soon discovered that Clare had never been a warrior and that she was in fact made from the strongest member of the group. It was very strange indeed.

"I guess that's why you're keen to avoid the organization then?"

Elena asked.

"Yes and no."

Sophia replied,

"We want to avoid the Organization because one: We failed our mission and a comrade awakened, two: they have no use for us and we'd just be executed and three: Clare, of course."

Irene calmly replied.

"And because of me."

Elena jumped when she heard the male voice join in the conversation. She looked behind her and her jaw dropped.

Behind Clare was the most handsome man she'd ever seen in her life. He had short unruly deep red hair and blue green eyes. He looked to be about 20 years old, although his yoki seemed much older then that. He was tall and carried a claymore on his back. He had large dark brown wings that were folded against his body, and a long tail with a deadly looking barb on the end. Elena had never seen a creature like him before, yet she somehow knew that he could be trusted with any secret.

Irene felt a small smile on her face as she watched Elena face her first flier. Johnothan was a powerful creature, and could come off as being a little frightening for some people. However his kindness was easily seen and put them at ease. She was glad that they had him with them. He saved them a lot of troubl


	3. Chapter 3: A Yoma in Rabona

Clare X Raki Chapter 3: A Yoma in Rabona

After Elena met Johnothan, things settled down for a bit as they travelled to the holy city of Rabona. Clare was given a new outfit, and Raki rather liked her in it. He carried Clare's sword and Elena's sword was carried by Noel, who had decided to play the part of a man. They were half a day away from Rabona when Teresa suggested that they take the suppressant pills. As they went to open the packs, Teresa noticed that two were missing from their party.

"CLARE!" she cried, "RAKI, WHERE ARE YOU?"

Irene Sophia and Noel were also worried as it was rare for Clare to leave the group. Johnothan told the others that he couldn't sense either of them and if they had taken the suppressants it would be almost impossible to find them at all.

Clare slowly made her way to Rabona, she felt guilty for sneaking off, but the way she saw it, if it was a yoma then someone had to go after it as quickly as possible. She had wanted to save the others a job, and she hoped that she was doing the right thing. As she walked in to the inn with Raki, Clare could feel the effects of the pills. She allowed Raki to greet the inn keeper. She took a deep breath and began the story that she had decided on, making sure that she had it down pat and able to withstand interrogation. It would make them less suspicious to the Rabonians, or at least Clare was hoping that would be the case.

"Welcome! We are the cheapest inn in town" the inn keeper said kindly, "Would you like to stay here?"

Raki pulled off his hood to reveal his face; he was nervous and hoped that Clare would be ok, "Ah, yes I would like to stay," Raki replied, "I may be here for a while,"

"Are you alone?" the inn keeper asked,

"Ah no," said Raki as Clare negotiated the doors, she almost fell over she was so exhausted. _Those pills must really be taking it out of her_ Raki thought,

"There are two of us," Clare replied, she sounded utterly exhausted, "my brother and I would like to share a room if we could please,"

"Oh, I understand," the inn keeper said, shocked that Clare was so pretty, Clare's hood fell down to reveal her short cut hair, and a slight sheen of sweat on her face. He realised that the poor girl was tired and now noticed why the boy was so protective of her, but he said nothing. He simply handed them a set of keys and suggested that the girl get some rest.

Clare could barely make it up the stairs without Raki's help. She threw the cloak into the bed and fell, grateful that Raki had been quick enough to catch her.

"Clare," Raki sounded worried,

"I'll be fine," Clare tried to reassure Raki, but she lay back on to the bed, an inaudible moan escaped her lips.

The cursed pill drained Clare of her strength, and travelling as hard as they did made her very weak. She could still hear Raki, and she heard him walk around the room, but as she ranged outward, it became muffled. Clare sat up, forcing herself to move,

"Clare…" Raki cast a worried look at her,

"We have to Raki, the Rabonians need our help," Clare replied, forcing herself to walk, something that she had done on numerous occasions when she was human, even before she met Teresa. Clare grabbed a towel and rubbed the sweat off her face. She led Raki outside,

"Going out?" the inn keeper asked,

Clare smiled sweetly, "Yes we are,"

Raki blinked, but luckily the inn keeper wasn't looking at him. Clare and Raki both walked through the town, Clare trying to get a sense of the vast city. She almost wondered what Teresa would say if she were there and could almost hear her words

"_Rabona is the holy city, so we'll have to be _very_ discreet, we don't want the humans knowing that we're there," Teresa said,_

"_Of course they won't suspect Raki as he is human, but it's the six of us that they will be suspicious of if we just walked in to their city," Irene commented, "they guard the city fiercely so if they have sent a request to the Organization it must be something that their humans can't handle. Worst case scenario would be that it is a veracious eater and them we would be in trouble."_

"_Yeah right!" Noel smirked, "I mean come on Irene, the way I look at it, the six of us are more than enough to handle it!"_

_Of course Clare listened with care, a veracious eater sounded bad,_

"_Irene, please use the correct term, veracious eaters are awakened beings like Priscilla," Johnothan sighed, "and that certainly isn't what's in Rabona, no it's a normal yoma alright, and a bloody strong one."_

Clare and Raki arrived to the cathedral; she decided to see if the yoma was in there. She walked over to the front of the church where two guards stood. They blocked Clare and Raki's way, holding their staffs to cross over the door,

"Beyond here is the Baptismal chambers, no commoners are allowed," said one of the guards,

"I'm here to be baptised," said Clare,

"Do you have the proof?" the guard asked her, and Clare showed him the engraved medallion, "I see, you may pass,"

Raki and Clare walked through the doors once the guards removed their cross. Clare tried her best to scent out the yoma, but she couldn't smell it. She was stopped by a priest, who beckoned to her. Clare knew what Elena had to say, as she'd told them all. Clare memorised it to the letter. So when the priest asked, "What is the name of your god?" Clare responded with, "My god is Rimuto, and I have journeyed from the distant lands of Sutafu,"

The priest tensed and said softly, "You must be…"

"Have discursion please father," Clare requested softly,

He placed his hands on her head and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Meet me at the bell tower after sun down,"

Clare bowed her head, and calmly rose. She bid the priest good day, and together she left with Raki back to the inn, having heard people talk about a curfew at night. She sighed inwardly and made sure that she had enough room for a meal. She would have cursed loudly all the same. She still only managed a couple of mouthfuls before she was full. Poor Raki had to eat almost two helpings of food. Clare winced guilty as Raki was forced to lie down. He pretended to be asleep as the inn keeper came in,

"Well, it looks like your brother is resting early," the inn keeper said,

"Yes, he is," said Clare, "thank you for the food it was delicious,"

"You're welcome," he smiled, "Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you that there is a curfew at night,-"

"We heard about that today while we were in town." Clare said gently,

"I see," he replied, "rest well then."

"Raki, are you alright," Clare asked once she was sure that the man was out of ear shot. Raki moaned a little and sat up

"It's alright Clare," he tried to make a joke; "at least it's good research!"

Clare resisted the urge to shake her head and pulled off the outer layer of her clothes revealing a tight outfit that gave her the maximum freedom of movement. She flicked yet another cloak over her shoulders and as she went to head out Raki suddenly said, "Clare," she turned to look at him, "be careful, please,"

She smiled at him, "Of course Raki," she said, her foot on the windowsill, "I will be back," with that she jumped on to the nearest roof and swiftly ran, lightly touching the roofs while Raki prayed that she would be safe.

Clare ran smoothly towards the place that the priest had told her. She dodged the guards and easily found where he had said to meet him. She landed on the floor with a soft thump, catching the man by surprise. He almost jumped out of his skin when he saw her. Clare stood up and calmly walked across the room,

"I believe that you are Father Vincent," she said,

"Yes," he replied, as she stood across from him,

"Don't worry; I should be able to find the yoma, though it is hiding itself quiet well." Clare told him

"How can such a thing happen-?"

"To the yoma it doesn't matter who you are or what you believe," Clare told him sadly, "they eat you regardless as long as your guts are inside you. I will do my best but if I die, the yoma will continue its feeding."

The priest flinched,

"There is one thing I would ask of you, if something were to happen to me, would you take on the boy that is travelling with me," Clare looked Vincent in the eye, "anywhere you could fit him in will suffice, he has lost much and he certainly isn't a yoma."

Vincent looked surprised. He then realised that Clare was being serious. She would ask nothing more of them than to look after a child that had been travelling with her, not anything for herself as he was quick to notice. It was then that Father Vincent had come to an astounding realisation. Claymores had more kindness than any human that he had ever come across. They were willing to die so that the humans could be protected from the yoma. They asked for nothing and it was the men that they were controlled by that demanded such astronomical sums be handed over.

"You have my word that we will do it," he told her. The relief on her face was a sight to behold. She truly cared for the human that was travelling with her.

"Thank you," said Clare, relieved that Raki would have somewhere to go if she did end up hurt.

As Clare raced back to Raki she heard a sound that she wasn't quite expecting to hear. She only just dodged small throwing knives, and once she landed on the roof a little harder than she intended, she was soon confronted by two men. She wanted to curse loudly, but she knew that she couldn't. She simply looked for the nearest escape route, although the men were doing a pretty good job of keeping her flanks blocked Clare was hoping vainly that she could get away without a fight. "Well, well, what have we here," one of the males asked, "Well Galk, he's fast enough to dodge your sword, but by the looks of it, he's not fast enough to dodge my knives."

"What are you doing out past the curfew," another male most likely Galk asked, "being out this late you are likely to be mistaken for a yoma,"

Clare saw the moment and bolted as hard and as fast as she could. The male that spoke flung his knives again, but they missed Clare completely. She ran as swiftly as her body could go, pushing it hard. She could feel her yoki return and as she picked back up to the speed that she had when it was half accessible, she made it back to the sleeping Raki, the men's' voices fading in to the distance as she ran.

When Raki woke, Clare was sitting by the window with a strange expression on her face. Her eyes were still a normal human colour, and it was only then that Raki noticed how sick she looked. She looked as sick as what she had after the first time that she'd taken the pills. It seemed to wear off as they'd walked, but Raki was still worried. According to Elena the effects of the drug only lasted half a day. Clare must have remembered to have the pills before he woke up. He walked over to her and then he gripped her hand between both of his,

"Clare, what's wrong?" he asked her.

"I'm sure that there was another attack at the cathedral last night," she said. Then Clare went white. Raki quickly supported her to the bed. As he helped her to it, he noticed that a small moan escaped her as she lay down.

"I'll go get some water," he said. Clare lay back with her eyes half closed. The damned pill was taking everything out of her. She half dozed as Raki went to leave the room. He didn't get very far when the door was opened and Clare could hear the sound of amour.

"We're looking for a suspicious character that was running around the roofs last night," a male voice began. Both Clare and Raki looked at the man, Raki with confusion and Clare forced herself to be as innocent as she dared. The man blinked, "Oh," Clare looked to Raki and Raki looked at Clare. Raki moved protectively in front of Clare, and Clare's hand shot out and grabbed Raki's shoulder,

"Raki," she said in warning, "don't go picking a fight,"

The man looked at the pair of them, confusion on his face for the first time, for Clare it was a warning concealed with a command. A wrong move could expose her, especially if Raki got in to a fight. She also had to appear as a concerned sister after all and making sure that she kept her 'brother' in line was just one way that she could hide them, she hoped. The man seemed to buy it at any rate; he turned and left the room. Clare's grip loosened on Raki's shoulder and Raki relaxed,

"That was close," he muttered,

"Yes, we need to head to the cathedral," Clare told him. Raki nodded and together they both went to leave the room. They were stopped by a group of guards that were talking to the inn keeper.

"Excuse me;" said Clare softly, "would you be as kind as to let my brother and I through please?"

The guards looked at Clare and Raki. Raki had Clare's left arm looped in his, as if he were escorting her. It was only a matter of time before they realised that Clare wasn't exactly human. Clare knew that she didn't have long until the damned pills made her sick again; she wanted to be clear of the humans before that happened. She was still not feeling the best so she half lent on Raki, the boy not minding at all. It would have been embarrassing enough if Teresa was here. Clare braced herself for questioning but it didn't come, and she was grateful that the men left her alone. There were two, one that was a knight and another with sandy hair, both looked at her almost suggestively. Clare ignored them and continued to the cathedral. When she arrived, she told Father Vincent what she had felt,

"I'm sure that it's here," she told him, "I need to know who comes in and out at night and who is allowed to stay overnight."

She listened carefully as he told her that it was only the priests and select guards that stayed in the cathedral overnight. Clare closed her eyes and decided that she would have to try and find the yoma, that very night if she could and kill it. She said nothing to Father Vincent, and left at sunset. She walked down the street with Raki and told him in a soft voice what she was going to have to do. Raki was worried of course and Clare calmed him. She told him that she would kill the yoma, but she didn't tell him that the odds were greatly against her. She had heard what Johnothan had said about it and knew that she was going to have to fight as hard as she could, for Teresa and Johnothan. She would make them all proud of her. Clare changed out of her top layer of clothing again and grabbed the two small knives from the pack. They wouldn't do much, and Clare certainly couldn't carry the claymore from within the statue at any rate, it would blow her cover.

As Clare ran along the roofs, it wasn't long before she ran into the two men from last night. They seemed to be amused,

"Well, gentle sister, it looks like your brother isn't here to protect you," one of them taunted. Clare's hood fell back revealing her short blond hair and face. She had a job to do, and even if they didn't like it she would do it right.

"Hey, she's got silver eyes!" the sandy haired man called, "She's a silver eyed witch!"

"Attacking me would be very foolish," said Clare, "the yoma that is hiding in the cathedral is far too powerful for you to deal with,"

"Hey!" the sandy haired man yelled as Clare kicked herself in to gear. She could sense the yoma, and if she was fast enough, she could save a life.

The two humans ran after her, though Clare easily out ran them, flying past two of the guards at the cathedral doors.

"Cid, Galk, what's going on?" a man asked,

"Open the doors a Claymore just ran in!" Cid yelled.

The man obliged, and they all followed Cid and Galk.

Clare's knives were useless against the yoma and she was injured. The humans arrived to see the large yoma, missing an eye try to take out Clare. Clare kicked off the ground hard as she dodged its attack. She could sense that the yoma was going to aim at Cid, so she shoved him out of the way, to the astonishment of all who were watching. When they realised that Cid would have died if he'd stayed still, they were shaken to the core. Clare yelled at them to get out, she tried to warn them, but the men didn't listen. Clare jumped on to the yoma's arm and saved Galk's life without any hesitation. The yoma however speared Clare in the chest, the girl's eyes widened in shock as she dropped the knife that she was holding. The yoma upon seeing all of the humans gathered disappeared before the men could stop it, dumping the Claymore on to the ground. Galk walked up to her and he was astounded to hear that her heart was still beating.

"She lives," he announced.

"Take her to the priests," said someone, "'coz that Claymore just saved our hides!"

Cid was tasked with getting the boy that was travelling with the Claymore. He was pissed off and wanted the damned bitch to die already. He didn't care. He made spiteful comments that made him get a punch to the face from the boy,

"Clare is kinder than anyone in this entire city, besides Teresa and Johnothan! She has a purer heart than any miserable human like you!" Raki half screamed, as he smashed Cid's jaw, much to the shock of the onlookers. Cid not wanting to be seen as weaker than a kid hit Raki back. The boy muttered something that sounded like "that bastard" and Cid grumbled about going back to his post. He winced, that kid sure had landed a powerful blow. Cid lightly brushed his jaw; thankfully it wasn't broken, just tender. Raki took Clare's hand between his; he wouldn't let it go until Clare woke.

The first day passed. Clare remained much the same and Raki prayed that she would open her eyes. He wanted to weep but knew that he had to be strong for Clare. Raki fell asleep at her side, her hand in his.

Clare woke to a strange sensation; someone was holding her hand, tightly and warmly. She sat up, thinking that it was in the time before she met Raki, and that Teresa was holding her hand and chasing away the bad dreams. She blinked as she realised that it was Raki that held her hand and that damned yoma had hurt her. Clare felt Raki stir and he gripped her hand tighter and woke,

"CLARE!" he cried

"I'm ok Raki," Clare told him.

Having heard Raki's joyous cry Father Vincent came in to see that Clare was sitting up, seemingly fully healed. She was smiling at Raki, with slight tears in her eyes,

"Clare, Clare," Raki hopped around her like a young child, rather than his age.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden," Clare told Father Vincent,

"Not at all," said the priest,

"Forgive me, but I think we're going to have to try a more direct approach to find this yoma than what I first thought…"

The guards listened to what the Claymore was saying; she had tested each human in turn, and had so far found nothing. Clare's face told them that she wasn't happy, she was annoyed, and then she suddenly went whiter than a sheet. She ran towards the baptismal chambers with haste. They didn't hear what she said, or if she said anything. They followed the Claymore.

"I hope that they find the yoma," Raki mused to himself, "I wonder if Clare's found it yet."

He absently walked away from the mummy and away from the statue that held Clare's sword. He sighed, feeling just a little cold. He turned and almost screamed. It was the yoma that Clare had been searching for, right here, right now. Raki tried to scream, but he couldn't. Then out of nowhere someone jumped in front of him, protecting him from the yoma's attack.

"Are you alright, did it hurt you?" Clare asked Raki, worried,

"Clare!" Raki sounded ok, but Clare couldn't be sure,

The yoma attacked again and Clare used her raw strength to stop it from hurting Raki. Galk, Cid and the rest of the humans arrived as Clare managed to get her sword out of the statue. She gripped the hilt and felt its familiar coolness under her fingers. Clare attacked, trying to end the battle as quick as possible. "Claymore," the yoma said, as Clare hacked off its arm, missing its head again. Galk tried to match the yoma, and Clare got its other arm.

"**Strike where ever you want Claymore, you won't kill me**," The yoma taunted

"**So you don't consider your head vital?**" Clare asked her yoki up as she kicked up from the ground hard, slicing off the yoma's head. Galk heaved a sigh of relief and Cid was forced to admit that the Claymore had done what the humans couldn't. However all wasn't well with Clare. She could feel her yoki running out of control. She could feel both intense pain and pleasure, and she knew that it was bad. She held her blade up to her throat, but she couldn't make the strike. Raki was worried,

"Clare, Clare, what's wrong?"

"**I've gone too far, I can't get it back**" Clare shoved her sword in front of her, her veins throbbing as she was locked in a battle from within,

"Clare," Raki suddenly clung to her tightly,

"**Raki stay back…I can't**-" Clare began,

"Clare, you are the most important person in my life, you saved me, in more ways than I could ever hope to repay. For once in my life I had someone, so if this is the end, take me with you." Clare felt a deep jolt, and Raki continued, "if you die, then I die too Clare."

"**NO!**" Clare screamed, forcing her yoki down even harder than before, she didn't want Raki to die, she would never forgive herself if he died, she wouldn't allow him to die, she wouldn't…

Clare's yoki surged, and Teresa jumped up, she felt Clare's yoki and she feared the worst.

"CLARE!" she screamed, the others jumped and then they all ran, regardless of what was going on, they had to stop Clare from turning in to an awakened being.

Clare sat, shocked that her yoki had gotten back under control. Raki clung on to her, crying with relief and Clare hugged him back. In that moment the bond between Clare and Raki changed forever.

"She didn't awaken Teresa," said Johnothan, "Clare pulled back"

"What?!" the others cried in shock,

"Clare's going to be ok," said Johnothan, he was smiling, "our girl did it Teresa, she did it."

Teresa heaved a sigh of relief as did the rest of the group,

"Oi, what's that make Clare now?" Noel asked,

"The same as the other warriors that I felt that happen to," said Johnothan, "clearly the Organization will see her as a threat, they might think that she'll find their current warriors, and cause chaos. There is one that we ort to look out for, one that might be connected to Setonara, the Wind Sword flier, she will be the most useful to have Teresa, once Clare comes back of course."

"I'll be sure to tell her the implications of her behaviour, that's for sure." Teresa said.

The others settled their pace, Teresa hoped that Clare would return soon, without anymore troubles.


	4. Chapter 4: The Phantom's Mate

Clare X Raki Chapter 4: The Phantom's Mate

Miria walked to the next town that she was supposed to be clearing of yoma and sighed, so much for an easy week. She looked around the town for any signs of the yoma, but she couldn't sense anything. What she saw was enough to shake her to the core. She couldn't take her eyes of the yoma corpses that lined the streets. She counted five yoma; all slashed apart with what looked like a claymore. The humans had said that it was a man that had killed them when Miria asked what happened and why the humans were still there staring at the yoma's bodies. Miria had blinked and shivered as the air suddenly felt wrong all around. She didn't know if she was right to feel the way she was, but she knew that something strange was going on. Miria walked away from the town. She knew that she would have to report to Ermita at once. She would have to say what she didn't want to say. There was someone capable of killing yoma and they were a man most likely. She shuddered as she tried to think of how best to tell Ermita when she felt something behind her. Miria ran.

The flier lurched forward. He had to keep up with this woman who moved so swiftly she was a phantom. His light pale wings beat powerfully, the air his ally. The wind swept his short brown hair back, showing the scar that ran down the right-hand side of his face and almost up the left cheek. Setonara was no body's fool. He'd been watching the pale haired woman. He could see that she was a skilled warrior; she could go days without sleep and food. He followed her using the updrafts in the air. He could see ahead of her and noticed that there was a man in black clothing, mostly covered up except his eyes. Seto felt a forbidding feeling about the man that gave the woman her orders, but he wouldn't harm the man just yet, he would watch and he would learn. The woman said some words and the man said something else. Seto stayed high in the air and followed the woman from afar once more as she set of in another direction; clearly he had a long way to go until she did stop to rest for herself.

Clare meekly arrived to find a very annoyed Teresa. Raki stayed behind Clare as Teresa Sophia Noel and Irene all gave her a lecture about hiding herself better. Johnothan yawned loudly and said, "Come now, Clare faced a tough opponent, true she didn't need to expose herself like she did, but she has done a commendable job."

He paused and tightened, "It looks like the Windsword has arrived."

"Who or what is the Windsword?" Elena asked, trying to get Clare out of yet more lectures from the more experienced warriors.

"Setonara; a forbidden flier," Johnothan replied, "He is one of the most powerful creatures of our race. There are three of our kind that are all called the forbidden fliers, Windsword Setonara, Quicksword Yuganna, and Powersword Yugiatemu. Any one of them spells certain doom for any who try to cross blades with them. They are far more powerful than the one called Priscilla of you awakened beings, or voracious eaters. I don't know why he's here though. The range is outside of my senses, at any rate."

The others shivered at the flier's words and prayed that they would never have to face the flier in question. Especially if Johnothan's reaction was one of fear, Teresa knew Johnothan well and he was usually unafraid to see him like this wasn't normal and it had her very worried.

Miria stoped for the night sure that whatever it was that she'd sensed earlier, it was just her imagination. She shoved her sword in to the ground and decided to get some rest. Ermita had been a pain, and once he'd had enough he gave her a new job to travel with a group of comrades to see if there was a voracious eater in a town to the west of where she was meant to clear the yoma from. She settled for the night and slept fitfully.

Setonara stood guard over the woman, making sure that she was safe and sound. He didn't want to get too close, but he was worried about her. Something was wrong. He looked at her and lightly touched her forehead. She was hot, feverish even. He sat on his haunches and drew in her sent. She smelt like a half breed over their limit but in control. He lightly touched her mind and sensed that she was grieving for a lost friend. Seto felt a tear run down his face. He knew her pain well. Jokoratan was his closest friend and since his friend's torture and subsequent death, Setonara had been most unstable. His kind had long since learned to fear the white winged flier's name, much like his two cousins, Yuganna and Yugiatemu. Seto sighed and lightly reassured the woman, whose name he had yet to be close enough to catch. He knew that she was a phantom; her speed was something to see and behold. It was almost as fast as Seto's was. He smiled lightly and jumped in to the air above her. The day would come when he would hear her name, and he would never let it leave his mind. The phantom rolled in her sleep and Seto could easily make out a faint smile on her face.

Miria woke from the strangest dream that she had ever had in her life. She thought that she'd seen a man standing protectively over her, gently watching over her and soothing away the pain that ate her night after night. Miria looked around her but the clearing yielded nothing, no clues to say that her dream was a reality, until she looked at the ground more carefully. There was a large indent on the ground where he would have rested, but surely she was imagining it. Miria decided that she didn't want to know and ran as hard as she could to the next town.

Clare yawned as they had pushed a hard pace from Rabona, Teresa wanting to get as far as possible so that they wouldn't be discovered. Irene was annoyed, but Clare soon found that there were other things that couldn't be explained away, and despite her best efforts, Raki was breaking in to her thoughts and Clare found herself thinking about things that she normally wouldn't think of. She dreamed of Raki and for Clare it wasn't normal. So far it had been a month since Clare had come close to awakening and now she noticed there were some changes in her appetite and how she felt about Raki. Clare tried to act like nothing had changed between them but it was hard, Clare opting for the distance rule in an effort to try to forget her feelings. She was distracted enough to say the least, Johnothan increasing her training and pushing her even harder than before. He'd even started training Raki to test their bond. Teresa had a feeling that something was going on, but she didn't know what.

Miria's speed took her further and further away from the place she rested but she just couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She stopped and listened to the sound of the forest that she was travelling through and heard a branch snap. She jumped when he landed in front of her, so smoothly that she didn't even see him. Miria's eyes were wide as she took in the white winged man. His hair was brown and waved behind his ears. His intense blue eyes were framed by his hair, a long bang rested over the left of his nose while shorter bangs sat both left and right. One eye was lighter than the other as a large scar ran through his right eye and up his left cheek. Scars covered the right hand side of his body, the sort of scars that looked both self-inflicted and caused by others. He was taller than Galatea easily reaching over six feet tall. Miria gazed in to his cat-like blue eyes and felt a shiver down her spine. Yet she felt safe at the same time.

"There is danger up ahead, another of my kin and a group of your kin with a human," his voice was filled with yoki yet was gentle at the same time. Miria suddenly realised that something he said was serious,

"You don't want to face a comrade?" she asked confused,

"My comrades fear me too greatly," he looked down, "they hate my power,"

Miria felt for this man that she didn't know, "What's your name?"

"Windsword Setonara," he replied his body shifted closer to her and yet Miria didn't even realise or feel worried about it, "you are?"

"Miria, though I am often called "Phantom" Miria" she replied

"I see," Setonara purred down the back of her neck, just above her collar bone where her skin was exposed, Miria was surprised by just how gentle he was, lightly nipping the skin playfully it seemed. "that name makes the most sense,"

Miria reached up to lightly push him back, but he moved back from her swiftly, so swiftly that Miria didn't even have time to react, her neck sting where he nipped her so she reached to touch it. She pulled her hand away as the spot was most tender. Setonara's eyes took on a worried look. Miria shrugged and turned towards the nearest town,

"I have work in the next town, you can travel with me if you like," Miria offered,

"I'm more than happy to," he replied and then Miria had her breath knocked out of herself when he smiled, "besides it would be good for both of us,"

"Of course," Miria stammered trying to get her voice back swiftly. She found herself wondering why he was called "Windsword" Setonara. She also felt off, though she had no real knowledge as to why she felt so off colour all of a sudden

Teresa felt the powerful single digit warrior change direction even though she couldn't have sensed them this far away. Or she could have been the "eyes" but Johnothan said the "eyes" was a different warrior.

"It's who she's with that has me worried," Johnothan trembled, "HE is with her,"

"The really scary flier," Raki half stated half questioned,

"Yes, him," Johnothan replied, "though why he would care for her is another question all together…"

Teresa and the others picked up their pace.

Clare was the first to run in to the pair with Raki. She gaped at the speed that the warrior had and barely had enough time to raise her sword,

"Who are you?" the two yoma hybrids demanded of each other. Then they laughed helplessly, neither knowing why they had laughed in the first place.

"I'm Miria and this is Setonara," the woman with spiky blond hair introduced herself and the flier that was with her, "I am a warrior of the nameless Organization; however I am trying to work against them subtly,"

"She does a good job," Setonara added calmly, "but all isn't as good as it seems, they do think her a trouble maker and will most likely try to get rid of her. You'll be safe near her,"

Clare looked at the flier that Johnothan was afraid of yet she felt no fear of him. He seemed no different from Johnothan himself, though he was younger and had scars almost covering the right hand side of his body and a long one on the right hand side of his face. Setonara agreed to at least meeting Johnothan, knowing the man at a distance that Clare could almost sense,

"We're being watched," Setonara warned, "I sense a skilled reader in our midst; she's far though, two thousand sword lengths away," he pointed westward, "she hides alone,"

Clare's eyes widened as she took in the flier's reading abilities. She was amazed that he could read so far away with such detail. Clare and Miria talked and soon found out that Miria had been seeking Teresa and the others for reasons contrary to the Organization's aims. Clare led the others back and Johnothan tensed up as they arrive. Setonara stayed behind Miria quiet and kept himself out of the way. Teresa talked with Miria and was surprised that Miria held a grudge against the Organization since the death of a comrade that was close to her. Teresa soon found that Miria was a valuable asset to the group, her ability to lead far out passing Teresa or any Number 1 within the Organization. Teresa tried to step down, but Miria wasn't having a bar of it preferring to stay well back,

"I'll let you know what I find out," she told them, "Setonara and I will travel to find out more about the Organization, and I hope that we will all meet again,"

With that Miria and Setonara left the others, Miria promising to keep Clare secret from the Organization and to tell them that Elena had died. Clare looked after Miria and wondered what she was going to do, then she realised that she was going to be the most helpful to their cause. Clare sighed as Raki invaded her thoughts like usual. She didn't know what was going on but she decided to do what she could to learn from the older warriors.

Clare and Elena were sparring hard, Clare struggled to move her blade faster, forcing her arms to scream in protest Miria's warning still ringing in their ears,

_Teresa looked at Miria curiously, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"_

"_Simple make sure that you avoid contact with these warriors, even if you have Johnothan with you, I'm not saying that he's weak, but they will give him a handful at best," Miria drew in a breath before she continued, "especially our Number 4, Ophelia, she's a nasty warrior and will go for humans as much as warriors, she has no care for human lives or the lives of her comrades she is ruthless and cunning and loves the sight of blood, please avoid her," Miria pleaded with the warriors, "and take care of yourself Clare, you can do things that not even I could do with yoki power,"_

_The others looked at Clare and Clare realised something wasn't quite right about Miria, her eyes were just a little different and her yoki was changing slightly, "Take care," Miria finished. Clare looked at Raki and felt a strange feeling creep in to her gut, one that she couldn't shake away…_

Miria had to stop, the pain wasn't just in her neck anymore; it was all over her body. It had taken a week to spread and now she could barely move. As she lay on the forest floor her head started to spin. All Miria remembered was that she wanted something, but what she didn't know.

Clare and Raki walked together with Elena in silence. Johnothan had picked up on a strange yoki so the others were going to see what it was. Clare followed the path and she surprised everyone by asking Johnothan a question,

"Johnothan, do you think it's possible for someone to become a flier?" Clare asked Johnothan. Everyone turned to the old flier, Teresa looking at him worried. Johnothan looked at Clare, "Yes, it's possible," he said at last, "I was one such creature, my limit no different to yours in a way. I was near death when it happened to me. All I do remember of my human self at the time was that I really wanted something, even now I dig in to my consciousness to try to find it and I can't. We forget when we change, our human memories are taken away and we are all instinct until we've been highly trained or have found our soul partners. Of all of our kind changelings are the most unstable creatures, excluding the Forbidden Three of course," he looked at Clare, "Usually it's easy to pick us while it's happening, we suffer pain that makes us want to lay down and sleep, our eye shape changes from human to cat-like, our eye sight itself sharpens far beyond even a true half yoma's. We get powerful fast, indeed our first month of life is very much like your double digits, we as strong as the single digits if trained correctly. If you were to be one of us you would have a tough time not picking a fight either, unless you could control that beastly nasty side of the dragon mind that needs to fight over sometimes useless things."

She woke not knowing why she felt so worried, but knowing that she wanted him. She pounced on him and he dodged her playfully, laughing with his more dragon-like growl. She jumped and landed on him; though he did nothing to stop her; their noses touching as a realisation came to her. She remembers a time of pain, of men in black clothes hurting her, cutting her open to become something strange and hated. She stops as her name pierces her mind…_Miria_…she stops playing for a moment and he tilts her head,

"_I must do what the men in black want_" she thought to him. He nods, "If you must, then let's travel as swiftly as we can,"

Clare felt the large power move along at a rapid rate, she felt two of them moving at once and realised that they were about to see something stranger than what Johnothan had ever seen before in his time as a flier. Clare wondered if Johnothan was sure about what he was doing as they all tried to keep up, Clare carrying Raki as they all ran after the yoki.

Teresa knew that they were cutting close to the Organization's warriors and called them away just in the nick of time. They hid in the forest and out of the town. Johnothan was capable of hiding himself so both he and Raki walked together as Clare and the other part yoma stayed hidden.

Clare lay flat on her side, tired. Irene and the others were watchful, hoping that they could get away without showing their faces around the humans. Teresa had guessed that the men of the Organization would be near and endeavoured to keep Clare out of trouble, though it wouldn't have mattered if she'd gone in. Humans wouldn't have noticed Clare at all since there were already three more "Claymores" in the town. Teresa sighed and stretched, they had chosen to hide in a cave until Raki and Johnothan had the right supplies to get them through their next hard push of travelling.


	5. Chapter 5: The Windsword's Attack

The rain plummeted down on the claymores as they walked. They had no idea that they were following a monster, a newly change monster at that. Miria didn't know why she didn't feel like fighting, she had felt Setonara's steady movements as he flew above the hunting party, she could sense the other part yoma hiding away, no doubt trying to keep out of trouble. They needn't have bothered, Miria didn't care, she wanted to fly with Setonara, but she knew that the half yoma needed someone on the ground to guide them and that was her job. They didn't smell nice and Miria felt put off eating because of the foul smell they let off. She could feel the water run down her back and wondered if her wings had even formed yet. She shrugged off the feeling and found a large cave to rest in for the night. This would be a good starting point, Miria smiled as she flung her amour off.

Clare decided to sneak ahead despite what Teresa had requested. She was curious about the oversized yoki and she wanted to see why it was like that. Clare turned behind herself in shock as Raki half fell over. Her eyes went wide and Clare felt a little worried. Raki was becoming cold and she needed to find somewhere dry for the night. She saw what looked like a cave up ahead and she grabbed Raki and ran to it. It was going to be the first mistake that Clare made that night.

Clare managed to find some dry wood and started up a fire, she was worried about Raki, he felt cold to the touch and Clare knew that cold humans wasn't a good thing. She checked the bag that Raki had been carrying, there were no spare clothes, but there were some dry blankets at least. Clare heaved a sigh of relief and hoped that she was doing the right thing. She built the fire up some more before wrapping Raki in the dry blankets, making sure that he was dry. She set him near the fire and dried out his clothes. Clare didn't worry about herself as much as she worried about Raki. She sat facing the entrance of the cave, watching as the water poured down. Clare felt her eyelids grow heavy and before she knew it, Clare was asleep with Raki in the blankets.

The other claymores were woken by a strange sound, the sound of snapping bones and snarls in the air. Each warrior paused and sat still. They all saw the strange creature before them, what was supposed to be their captain, and they were afraid that she had lost it completely and awakened on them. They didn't know what to do, they were going to move when the creature walked over to them, her silver eyes filled with worry. The warriors, one with short hair, one with chin length and the other with hair so long that it came down to her waist were frozen in shock,

"Please don't," Miria requested gently, "I can hear what you're thinking, and I don't think that monster covers it properly,"

The long haired warrior spoke, "So you're not an awakened being?"

"Of course not Yuma," Miria made to move, but she thought better of it and backed away, "I don't think even I can explain what's happened,"

She looked to her left were the real born flier was asleep on the cold cave floor,

"I think Setonara can, but he's sleeping for now,"

"So if you're not an awakened one, what are you?" the warrior with the chin length hair demanded, folding her arms,

"What Setonara is I suppose," Miria sighed, "I don't know how it works Helen, but I do know that two of you have gone over you limits, I can sense as much,"

The short haired warrior spoke after a couple of minute's silence, "What happened, why is that wound nearly completely healed,"

"It is I have said Deneve, I am what Setonara is, I don't know what will happen, nor do I know what limitations there are," Miria drew in a deep breath to calm herself, she knew that she had more yoki than when she was half yoma, and she knew that somehow she'd changed. She suddenly felt _his_ mind in her own, the yearning that he had for her was overwhelmingly strong and powerful, he wanted to be with her and nothing else. He wanted her to be happy, to hold her close and care for her in a way that no one had cared for her. She shook her head and felt the strangest of things. Someone was going to be changed by something that she didn't know. Miria went towards the entrance and the rain was just too hard to see what was more than a sword length in front of her. It was too risky now. Miria knew that whatever it was it was going to come after her comrades and she didn't know herself if it was a good yoki or an evil one.

Clare woke feeling pain, a sharp pain that she'd felt only once before. She jumped up and whatever it was that had caused the pain had fled. Clare felt dizzy and weak and she fell back down, she didn't know what had happened.

Raki and Clare both woke to the sound of clanging amour, Raki was up and dressed, neither recalled the pain of the raining night before, and Clare felt oddly hungry. The two coped a shock when Miria and Setonara and three half yoma all come over to them. Clare felt surprise at seeing two large bird-like wings on Miria's back that were neatly folded. She had a long barbed tail just like Johnothan's though it looked like it had more barbs than Clare had seen on his.

"_Mind telling me what happened to you?_"

Clare jumped back as Miria's voice spoke only in her mind. Raki had flinched as well and Clare cautiously reached out with her own mind.

"_I don't know or understand what happened_," Clare's own thoughts couldn't lie; unlike anything she's ever said this was pure truth. Miria nodded and Clare looked towards Raki. they could both sense a deep yoki, not as powerful as them, but still it was strong, "_I was aware of that, I do have a range similar to Setonara,_" Miria's thoughts were lightly rebuking, "_we have narrowed down the target, if you want to fight, you can come with us_"

"I will," said Clare, "as long as Raki's safety is assured,"

The half yoma looked from Miria to Clare to Miria again,

"Then we must hurry, time is of the essence," Miria turned and then moved swiftly, the half yoma ran to keep up with her, but for Clare and Raki with their newly changed bodies it was a struggle to keep up. Clare would have been a weak warrior if she had been with the Organization, having had a warrior's flesh create her and not the yoma that was to be expected.

They ran in to the canyon and Miria raised her hand. Her senses told her than the monster, and monster it was, smelled divine. She could feel saliva starting to drip down her jaw. She looked at Setonara and noticed the same expression of hunger,

"_What is it that makes us like this?_" Miria asked him,

"_The monster's blood, we do feel hunger to eat that which isn't human, or that which eats humans, we hunger only for its blood and not its flesh_," Setonara replied. The claymores hadn't sensed it yet and Miria was chomping at the bit to attack it, for reasons that she didn't know or understand. Miria looked at Clare and noticed that she was having a hard time suppressing the exact same desires as what Miria was. The two cast quick glances and both knew without touching minds what was going on. They both hoped that Johnothan arrived soon.

Teresa was a wreck; she was worried about Clare and now Raki as well. She hadn't seen the two in a day and a half and she was already wondering what Johnothan had meant by the fact that there were three new fliers with the Windsword. Teresa didn't care what was said and done, she wanted to find Clare now. She ran through the trees and the others followed her closely, all worried about the same child. Teresa didn't want to tell the others about the intimacy that she'd shared with Johnothan either, she wasn't going to talk about something like that yet. She focused on running as fast as she could. Hopefully Clare was ok as well as Raki.

As luck would have it Teresa, Johnothan, Sophia, Irene and Noel all came across a group of claymores, all of whom had gotten hurt. Teresa recognised Miria at the front of the fight.

"CLARE, RAKI, GET BACK!" Teresa yelled.

To their intense surprise neither Clare or Raki listened, they were to busy distracting the male awakened being from a certain flier that was warming up his Windsword attack. Teresa tried to stop Clare as she jumped over towards the other claymores, only to have Raki charge forwards. Raki jumped off the ground hard, surprised by how light Clare's claymore was to him. He knew something had changed when he swung it with precision, slashing off the arm of the awakened being. He jumped hard to Clare; she broke out of Teresa's frightened grip and charged forward, just as swiftly as Raki had, much to Teresa's surprise. Raki clutched at his left arm, the pain wasn't too bad, minor compared to the first time he felt anything. He felt like he was one with Clare and they both wanted one thing at the moment. Just as Miria wanted it, they were waiting on Setonara's Windsword attack. Raki felt Clare come to him, her yoki gracefully stopping before him as they swiftly changed who had the sword. Clare turned to prepare for yet another strike, Raki charging forward, he could swear that he felt wings extending from his back, lifting him up in to the air as he slashed at the male awakened being. For all that Raki knew he didn't have wings, so it was his raw jumping ability, but small wings had lifted the boy up, raising him high enough to release his yoki solely in to his arm, enough to pick up the sword speed. Raki took three arms and as he ran back towards Clare there was a whistle in the air.

"FUCK, GET DOWN NOW!" Johnothan swore loudly, the last time he'd heard that sound was when the white winged dragon was totally out of control hacking and slashing everything in his path. Now though there was a degree of far greater control than Johnothan had ever seen. He gaped as the warrior called "Phantom" Miria, ran and looked like she'd just slid through the male awakened being. The being was killed before it could even beg for mercy.

Clare felt weak and she half fell over. Raki was near her and also fell down. Miria fell in mid-air and Setonara grabbed her swiftly so that she wouldn't get hurt by the fall. He landed smoothly on his toes. He looked at the other claymores and walked over to them. The one called Deneve was working on her arm, while Helen was recovering from having the being scratch her back so that she couldn't move. Yuma was knocked out and had been since the start of the fight. Clare and Raki were both weak and down recovering, not that Setonara worried too much, they would be fine as they didn't take much damage. He'd felt the others coming, he knew that they would arrive near when the job was finished and that didn't bother him because he knew how far away they were. He looked at Johnothan and he could feel the man's fear. He was aware of the depth of Setonara's yoki and clearly he hadn't forgotten the way Setonara was before Miria came in to his life. However Seto hadn't felt more in control since he'd been with Miria. He looked at Clare and Raki, Raki was half holding up Clare as she was weakened by the fight. Seto looked at Miria and he could sense another claymore at a distance, he could feel her confusion and he spoke, "We're being watched," Miria looked up and focused on where Seto was looking, she could sense the woman as well,

"Galatea, the Number 3," Miria said boredly, "no matter what happens here she won't understand it,"

The warriors looked at Miria, surprised by her range of sensing. Setonara wasn't surprised that Miria could sense further, he knew she would, if given the chance out sense the warriors now. She would grow in power and rival Johnothan, even while she was barely a day old. She was smarter than the average changeling. For Clare and Raki it would be another six days until the changes swung in to place.

The warriors all chatted to one another and Teresa met the new comers. Miria's attitude towards her comrades hadn't changed from when she was human, much to their surprise. Setonara had calmly yawned loudly to get everyone's attention,

"Well that worked," he said, "you ask how is it that Miria's personality didn't change, here's the unsurprising answer. Miria's personality is the same. She can't change that from when she was human, when you are made a flier, your human traits are translated in to flier traits. If you were an offensive warrior in your mind, you're an offensive warrior on the ground. If you have a defensive mind, you're a defensive type. You'll find that Miria is a defensive type by nature, but offensive when she attacks willingly. Thus she is what we call a "Soul-Defensive" she can still heal fast to take more blows, but she can pack a real punch. I'm a Raw Defensive; I don't fight offensively ever, like Yuganna, my titch of a cousin. She's far more powerful than I am."

Johnothan was surprised by Setonara's revelation about the flier types. He'd always thought the forbidden three were offensive types. He shuddered as he realised one very important thing, defensives were almost impossible to defeat. You had hours of fighting until you took their head. He stayed cautious, he couldn't afford a new changeling and a forbidden flier in the same token, such a combination was bound to cause disaster if left alone for too long. The one thing that shook Johnothan to the core was Setonara's calmness; indeed it was as if he was no different from a normal, weaker flier. Johnothan was confused and worried. If only he knew what had changed such a blood thirsty flier, if that was even possible. The fire burned somewhere that much Johnothan knew. If for some reason Setonara did get out of control, it would be catastrophic for all involved, even if he was strong, Johnothan lacked the power to put Setonara in his place. It wasn't a risk that he wanted to take if he could help it. It would only serve for ill purposes. With that thought in mind, Johnothan took the first night watch with Teresa, away enough from the group that they could sense, but not be heard. Johnothan prayed that it everything was going to be ok, but he just couldn't tell. Only time would prove that Setonara was in control of himself and able to help Miria adjust to being a flier.


End file.
